Monash University Media Release
The Liberal Party has agreed to formally abandon its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, following a vote in which a majority of members supported removing the target. A Monash expert is available to speak on this announcement and what it means for the Liberal Party, including Sussan Ley’s leadership.
Associate Professor Zareh Ghazarian, Head of Politics and International Relations, Monash School of Social Sciences says that:
“The Liberal Party continues to tie itself into knots over the issue of climate policy. The issue has been a key point of division within the party for many years. As is expected after a heavy loss, the party’s new leader, Sussan Ley, is still trying to assert authority over the party.
“On this occasion, it appears that the party’s leadership has erred on the side of trying to maintain cohesion within the party. On one hand the party has abandoned a net zero policy, but on the other hand it has committed to the Paris Agreement and working to mitigate emissions. This has the potential to either define, or undermine, Ley’s nascent leadership.”
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LNP has a defeatist attitude. Too many Australians think that we are only a small country — we can’t make any difference. Australia is one of 198 countries, thus 0.5% of countries. We are 27 million of 8 billion, thus 0.3% of the population. Yet Australia invented Wi-Fi, solar power, is a leader in quantum computing, and can be in renewables (which are advancing in technology all the time). Not only is Australia awash in gas, but free solar and wind power. We actually have so much renewable energy we don’t know what to do with it before we get more battery power (which can be hydro power).
Although Australia is 0.5% of the countries and 0.3% of world population, Australia emits 1.5% of greenhouse emissions. Australia needs to catch up. We should not be defeatist.
The LNP will use scare tactics about electricity prices, blaming high retail prices on renewables, or Labor’s plans. But why do we have high retail prices when wholesale prices are lower? Not everyone’s bill is up. If you have solar, you are laughing, even more with a battery or reversible EV battery. That is fine for home owners. We need to make schemes for rental properties to install solar and batteries. Distributed systems, not big central utilities are the way of the future. The LNP is wedded to old centralised generation. Actually it is the old coal facilities that are now expensive to run and maintain because they are failing that are part of the price problem.
The other parts of the energy price problem is that the LNP (under Howard) did deals to sell our gas cheaply overseas while domestically we pay high prices. Thus when we need gas to step in for now, electricity is expensive. There is also the problem of an unstable world, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which has pushed global prices higher.
The LNP are simply trying to blame the wrong thing — renewables, the very thing that is probably keeping prices down. This is for political purposes.